1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to latching assemblies for doors, and more particularly to such a latching assembly where the component parts have multiple positions so that the same latching assembly can be used for various door securing arrangements.
2. BACKGROUND ART
In some instances, a latching assembly is made with a spring mounted latch bolt and a lock bolt. The spring loaded latch bolt is arranged with a slanted contact face and generally always remains in its extended position, unless it is moved inwardly by operation of one of the door handles or buttons, or is moved inwardly by engagement with the striker plate of the door frame. In the latter situation, when the door is moved to the closed position with the spring loaded latch bolt extended, the slanted contact face of the latch bolt engages the striker plate to cause it to retract into the door, with the latch bolt then springing outwardly into its latching position to fit within a latchbolt opening in the striker plate.
On the other hand, the lock bolt remains retracted, except when it is deliberately extended into its locking position. Thus, if the door is opened and the lockbolt is extended, the door cannot be closed until the lock bolt is moved into its retracted position.
Quite often, these latch bolt and lock bolt assemblies are manufactured as a single unit, with these components being provided in a common housing. One of the problems encountered is that for a variety of reasons, doors having similar orientations will not always open in the same direction. For example, if a person is facing a door and finds the hinges of the door to be on the person's right side, and the latching assembly on the left side, that door may open toward the person or away from the person. It is necessary that the latch bolt be properly oriented relative to the direction in which the door opens. More particularly, the slanted face of the latch bolt must be facing in the direction that the door is moved when being closed, so that the latch bolt can engage the striker plate and move to its retracted position during the door closing operation.
Another complication is that on doors that have locking devices, the actuating components of the assembly (e.g. the door handle or the actuating button) will generally differ, depending upon whether those components are on the "outside" or on the "inside" of the door. The term "outside" can be considered as referring to that location where, with the latch assembly in the locked position, the person can only unlock and unlatch the door by use of a key or keys. The "inside" location is that where the person can unlock the latch assembly simply by manually operating a knob or a pushbutton. Thus, not only will the orientation of the spring loaded latch bolt differ, depending upon the opening and closing direction of the door, but also the positioning of the actuating components may be placed on one side or the other of the door, relative to the latch bolt, depending upon such considerations as arrangement of the home or building structure in the doorway area.
To the best knowledge of the applicant herein, commonly such latch assemblies that have two latching and/or locking members in the assembly will be made in at least two different versions to accommodate for these differences or variations as outlined above. This causes the manufacturer the inconvenience of having to supply at least two different types of what are essentially (in terms of function) the same latching assembly. The wholesaler or retailer likewise has the inconvenience of having to carry a larger inventory because of these variations. Further, the end user (e.g. the contractor or the construction worker) either must carry a larger inventory of latch assemblies to be prepared for these different situations, or encounter the difficulty of having to order special latching assemblies, depending upon the particular situation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide such latching assemblies where there are two door-securing components (a door-securing component being either a latch bolt or a dead bolt), where the component parts can be placed in a multiplicity of positions to accommodate the variations outlined above.